The 2008–09 A-League was the 32nd season of top-flight

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

in Australia, and the fourth season of the

A-League A-League Men, also known as the Isuzu UTE A-League for sponsorship reasons, is a professional soccer league in Australia and New Zealand and the highest level of the Australian soccer league system. Established in 2004 as the A-League by the ...

competition since its establishment in 2004. Two new clubs, North Queensland Thunder and Gold Coast Galaxy had received tentative licences from the FFA but these were revoked for the 2008–09 season on 12 March 2008. Expansion plans are on hold until the 2009–10 season. Based on their 2007–08 performances, the Central Coast Mariners and the Newcastle Jets competed in the

2009 AFC Champions League The 2009 AFC Champions League was the 28th edition of the top-level Asian club football tournament organized by the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), and the 7th under the current AFC Champions League title. The final was held at the Nati ...

for the first time. Changes to the league included: * The introduction of both a youth league and women's league aligned with A-League clubs. * An increase in the

salary cap In professional sports, a salary cap (or wage cap) is an agreement or rule that places a limit on the amount of money that a team can spend on players' salaries. It exists as a per-player limit or a total limit for the team's roster, or both. Seve ...

to A$1.9 million. * The addition of a Junior Marquee player. (A player under the age of 23 who has up to A$150,000 of his salary outside of the cap. * Injury replacement players can only match the injured players' salary, or have any excess included within the total Salary Cap.

Clubs

Foreign players

The following do not fill a Visa position:
¹Those players who were born and started their professional career abroad but have since gained Australian Residency (and New Zealand Residency, in the case of Wellington Phoenix);
²Australian residents (and New Zealand residents, in the case of Wellington Phoenix) who have chosen to represent another national team;
³Injury Replacement Players, or National Team Replacement Players;
⁴Guest Players (eligible to play a maximum of ten games)

Salary cap exemptions and captains

Pre-season Challenge Cup

All A-League clubs played the pre-season cup competition held in July and August, and were drawn into two groups. Group A consisted of Adelaide United, Melbourne Victory, Newcastle Jets and Perth Glory. Group B was Central Coast Mariners,

Queensland Roar Brisbane Roar Football Club is a professional Association football, soccer club based in Brisbane, Queensland. competing in Australia's premier men's competition, A-League Men, which is the top tier Australia's Australian soccer league system ...

Sydney FC Sydney Football Club, commonly known as Sydney FC, is a professional association football, soccer club based in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. They compete in the top-tier men's league in Australia, the A-League Men. Established in 2004, ...

and Wellington Phoenix. The winner of each group, Melbourne Victory and Wellington Phoenix, met in

Wellington Wellington is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the third-largest city in New Zealand (second largest in the North Island ...

on 6 August 2008 for the Pre-Season Cup Final. With the score at 0–0 after 90 minutes, the game went to penalties, Melbourne Victory eventually prevailing 8–7, thus becoming the first team in A-League history to claim all three available trophies, after winning the Premiership and Championship in the 2006–07 season.

Regular season

The 2008–09 A-League season was played over 21 rounds, followed by a finals series.Hyundai A-League 2008/09 Season Draw
, Football Federation Australia, 2 May 2008

League table

Results

Round 1

Round 2

Round 3

Round 4

Round 5

Round 6

Round 7

Round 8

Round 9

Round 10

Round 11

Round 12

Round 13

Round 14

Round 15

Round 16

Round 17

Round 18

Round 19

Round 20

Round 21

Finals series

Bracket

Semi-finals

''Queensland Roar won 4–1 on aggregate.'' ---- ''Melbourne Victory won 6–0 on aggregate.''

Preliminary final

Grand Final

Statistics

Leading scorers

Attendance

These are the attendance records of each of the teams at the end of the home and away season. The table does not include finals series attendances. * Adelaide United played a one-off match at the Adelaide Oval against Sydney FC in their Round 18 match. This is why Adelaide United's highest single attendance exceeds the capacity of

Hindmarsh Stadium Hindmarsh Stadium (also known as Coopers Brewery, Coopers Stadium under naming rights) is a multi-purpose stadium in Hindmarsh, South Australia, Hindmarsh, an inner western suburb of Adelaide, South Australia. It is the home of the Australian ...

Top 10 Attendances

Awards

* The Premiers' Plate was awarded to the Melbourne Victory, who finished on top of the ladder after the regular season. * The Johnny Warren Medal was awarded to Shane Smeltz from the Wellington Phoenix. * The Coach of the Year was awarded to

Aurelio Vidmar Aurelio Vidmar ( ; born 3 February 1967) is an Australian association football manager and former player, currently manager of Melbourne City. He is a former captain of the Australia national team and former coach of the Australia U23 nati ...

of Adelaide United. * The Reebok Golden Boot was awarded to Shane Smeltz of the Wellington Phoenix (12 goals - regular season). * The Rising Star award was awarded to

Scott Jamieson Scott Alexander Jamieson (born 13 October 1988) is an Australian retired soccer player who played as a left back. Club career Blacktown City Jamieson was born in Auburn, Sydney. He has previously played for the Blacktown City in the New S ...

of Adelaide United. * The Fair Play Award was awarded to the

. * Goalkeeper of the Year was awarded to Eugene Galekovic of Adelaide United. * Referee of the Year was awarded to Matthew Breeze. * Foreign Player of the Year was awarded to Charlie Miller of the

Notes

References

External links

A-League official website, including fixturesFootball Federation AustraliaSBS The World Game A-League sectionFOXSPORTS.com.au A-League section and Official A-League Fantasy competition
{{DEFAULTSORT:2008-09 A-League A-League Men seasons Aus